Recording and computing card.



c. M. WRIGHTSON.

RECORDING AND COMPUTING GARD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1912.

'1,090,587'.4 Patented Mar.17,1914.

v CHRISTMAS CLUB I I CZg/esMMg/#son MMM WM CHARLES M. WRIGHTSON, 0FMELBSE PARK, PENNSYLVANIA.

RECORDING AND COMPUTING CARD.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar, 17, 1914,

Application 4filed Ju1y'31, 1912. Serial No. 712,383,

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLns M. WRIGHT- soN,a citizen of the United States, residing at Melrose Park, county ofMontgomery, and'State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Recording and Computin `Cards, of which the following isa ful ,e clear, and eXact description, reference being ad to theaccompanying `4`drawings, 'which form a part of this specification. y

The object ofmy invention is to provide a card, adapted to be employedfor recording payments made by a depositor who undertakes to depositfixed sums at stated intervals for a determined time, and whereby,without the necessity of bookkeeping or written'entries of any kind onthe card yor elsewhere an accurate account may be kept, both by thedepositor and ,the bank or other depository, ofthe number of paymentsmade and to be made, and particularly of the aggregate amount ofpayments 'in `de atany time between the first payment and the last.While the invention has found its most useful application in the abovefield, `it is not necessarily limited to any particular use, but will befound available in any case Where there are a large number of accounts,each involving numerous small payments of fixed amounts, and where it isdesirable to ascertain at any given time, without the necessity forcomputation, the total amount paid in on any given individual account.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings: Figure 1 is aface view of one of the cards used by the depositor. Fig. 2 is a rearview of the same. Fig. 3 is a face view of one corner of the card usedbythe depository and which may otherwise be an exact duplicate of thedepositors card.

The face of the depositors card is represented by a. The printedmatteron the face of the card may vary as desired, but as illustrative merelyof one convenient way of usingthe card I have illustrated, inabbreviated form, part of the printed mattei' appearing on cardsini-actual use. In this particular card, the depositor is supposed tomake fifty weekly payments of one dollar each, commencing on a dateclosely followingone Christmas and ending on a date closely precedingthe followingChristmas;

'the idea being to aid the depositor in saving money during the year sothat hevwill be in possession, at the end of the year, of

funds for meeting the expenses incident to the holiday. season. The cardis therefore appropriately entitled on the face Christmas club (see cFig. l). Each'a'c'count is given a number, which is placed (say) at d atthe upper left hand corner. A space e` is left for the entry of the nameand address ofthe depositor, which, when filled in, shows that thedepositor is entitled to deposit in the club, subject to the rules andregulations printed on the back b (see b Fig. 2), the amounts specifiedon the lower part of the face of the card. A space g is left for thesignature of the treasurer.

The lower part of the card is divided by 'ing in number to the number ofpayments to be made. In the several squares are' entered the dates whenpayments are due and preferably also the amounts to be paid. Directionsare also given, as at d, vto punch the card on the face side.

When a depositor makes a payment the card is` punched at the point 7'lndicated by a cross or other conspicuous mark. y

On the back of the card, beneath the rules andregulations, spaces It areleft for the signature and address of the depositor, for the date, andfor the signature of a witness. The lower part of the back of the cardis divided into squares m corresponding in number and location to thesquares h on the front of the card. -An additional square n ,I is alsoprovided, In each back square (except at one corner) is printed acharacter expressing a certain amount. The characters expressing theseamounts should be printed directly opposite the punch marks on thecorresponding squares on the face of the cai-d2' so that when the cardis punched on any square,' the corresponding character is obliterated.Above the squares on the back is printed: The smallest amount below notpunched shows the total amount ot' money paid on this account.

It must. be borne in mind that the left hand squares on vthe face of thecard, as shown in Fig. 1, correspond to the right hand squares on theback of the card, as shown in Fig. 2. It will therefore be understoodthat the square at the lower left handcorner of Fig. l corresponds tothe square at the lower right hand corner of Fig. 2. These two squares Iwill designate respectively the irst'front square and the first backsquare. AIt will Ibe noticed that pearing on any Aof the back squares issquareis punched from .on anyy of the back squares is the first frontsquare contains thedata f Dec. ,i `30, 1912, $1.00 due. This representsthe arno'untfof the first payment and the date when it Ibecomes due. Thefirst back square is blank. The second front square contains the dateJanuary 6, 1913, $1.00 due. The' secondbacksquare contains the data $1.The third front square contains the data J any. 13, 1913, $1.00 due. Thethird back square contains the data $2.

It will be observed that the character apgiven square on the backexpresses an amount equal to thetotal sum of the amounts appearing onall the lpreceding front squares. Thus, assume that the depositor makeshis first payment of one dollar.I The first square is punched from thefront. The smallest amount appearing on any of the back squares is $1,on the second lback square, and this represents the total" amou'nt paid.When the depositor makes his second payment, the second square ispunched from the front. This eliminates the mark $1 on-the second backsquare," and the smallest amount appearing on any $2 and this representsthe total amount paid. When the depositor makeshis third payment,thethird the front. This eliminates the mark $21 on the third backsquare, and the smallest amount appearing $3 which represents the totalamount paid. When the depositorhas made his final payment, all

the marks on the back are eliminated except the amount $50 on the extrasquare, and this vrepresents the total amount paid. It may also be notedthat each perforation made bythe punch constitutes a receipt for theamount in the corresponding'square.

. i The cards are adapted for use whether the amounts paid are uniforn',or whether, as in some savings clubs, the amounts to be paid increaseinl an arithmetical ratio, through-4 out theterm, or vary in some otherway. It is only necessary that the amount printedy on any given squareon the back'shall be the total sum of the amounts appearing in all thepreceding front squares.

The depositor andthe bank, club or other institution receiving andholding the deposits should each be provided with a card,

' which cards should be duplicates so far as concerns that part thereofwhich is divided into squares. They may be duplicates throughout anddistinguished one from the other by color, although I prefer to alsodistinguish the card held by the depository by the words Ofiice card, orsome similar designation, as shown in Fig. 3, in which a: represents thecard retained by the depository. When -a depositor makes a payment, thetwo cards are placed one over the other with faces up and punchedthrough beth.

Thus each party retains a card.

Heretofore it has been found impracticable for banks, trust companiesand savings.

institutions to handle accountsv comprising a multitude of smalldeposits, and savings banks have uniformly refused to accept depositsbelow a minimum sum, by reason of the vast amount of- Workentailed inhandling a -large number `of such accounts. the ordinary savings bankthe following method of keeping the depositors accounts is in vogue. Thedepositor is furnished with abound pass book having a number of pagesfor the entry of deposits. vWhen a deposit is made thereceiving tellerenters the date of payment and the amount paid in the pass book andreturns it to the depositor. Thev teller then enters upon-a separateslip a record of the name of the depositor, the number of his pass-book,the amount received and the. date of deposit. From this slip (or depositticket) an entry of the same item ismade in the daily scratcher (orjournal). The bookkeeper then posts the same data into the ledger to thecredit of the depositor. Assuming, now, that a depositor makes fiftyweekly payments, it is necessary for the bank clerks to make each one ofthe above entries fifty times. In other words, t'wo hundred writtenentries must be made of the fifty transactions. It will thus be seenthat a bank handling ten thousand different accounts involving weeklypayments would have to employ a force of clerks suiiiciently large tomake' two million detailed entries in the course ofthe year. `Besidesthis, it is necessary for the bank to total on the ledger the paymentsmade, and to know, at all times, the totalamount paid by each depositor.Further, even lwith this rodigious amount of work the depositor 1s notinformed, at any given time, of the total amount of his deposits,andthis is a diiiicult matter to figureront especially where the depositsmade increase or decrease in arithmetical ratio. By utilizing myrecording and computing card, all this labor is entirely done away with.The depostiors card renders a pass book unnecessary, because the punchreceipts for the amount deposited. The banks card does away with thetellers (ticket) record, the scratcher and the ledger. Each punch-mark,made simultaneously through the "two cards, records the corre- ,spendingpayment on both the depositors card and the banks card; and the latter,when filed away in conformity with any of the known card-index systems,performs the same function as the ordinary ledger. Thus not only is thenecessity for amultitude of separate entries entirely `dispensed with,but after any given .payment the total amount paid is automaticallyreceipted `for' and computed and thus themaking of a large number oflaborious arithmetical calculations is also rendered entirelyunnecessary', It will arerelatively la'rge,

thus be seen that m invention operates as a book-keeping expe ient andas such is entirely automatic save only for the punching operations.

The invention has a wide range of utility. Even in. cases where theseparate deposits and where it mi ht be profitable for the bank tohandle t e ac- -vperative than where the deposits` are made describedand shown is that after matically computed or'posted,

count in the ordinary way, the incentive to regularl weekly savlngs 1smuch more 11n- 1n pass books in the regular Way. Indeed it has beenfound profitable, with theem` ployment of my recording and com utingcard, to handle accounts the individua payments in which arithmeticallyincrease throughout the year, fro'm one or two cents up to one or twodollars or arithmetically decrease from one `or two dollars toone or twocents-the handling ofv which has heretofore been unthinkable and whichenables savings banks to open accounts with a vast number of people,including children, whose. small savings could not heretofore have beenppssibly handled. In this way my invention is admirably adapted toencourage habits of thrift in .the community.

One of the advantages of ment not only is the total amount paid autobutlthe immediately preceding computation is simultaneously eliminated; andthus the lo erations of recjidirgfcomputing andthe e imination of. the-pfected at one-and vthe'same time, by a v'single punchingL.opeljatior'r,"l and this too, effected botl on thejdepsitors -card andthe banks car Having now fully described my invention, what Iclaim anddesire top'rotect by Letters Patent is: i

1.A card of the character described having opposite recording andcomputing faces,

-the recording face'of the card having spaces containing a consecutivelyarranged series of numerals indicatingv respectively payments to be mae, and the computing face ofthe card having spaces containing aconsecutively arranged series'of numerals and located respectivelyopposite all thev spaces on the recording face except the first andhaving also an extra `space op osite one-of said spaces on the recordingglee, each ofsaid the card herein each pay-v .evious computation areef-v lopposite all of the firs set o 'merals except the rst of theseries, the card'may' be punched to simultaneously A payments.

numerals on the computing facerepresentying the sum of the numerals inthe spaces preceding the. immediately opposite space on the recordingface,

said extra space containing a numeral representing the sum of all thenumerals on the recording face.

2. A card Vof the character described having opposite recording therecording face of the card having a number of consecutive spaces'contaimng numerals and indicating respectively payments to be made, andthe computing face of the 'card havingv immediately opposite spaces andalso an extra space, all the spaces on the computing face except thefirst containing lnumera s each of which represents the sum of thenumerals in the spaces preceding the immediately opposite space on'therecording face, whereby when spaces containing consecutive vnumerals ontheyrecording face are consecutively punched, the lowest numeral in thelunllpunched spaces on the computing face w' as the result of any givenpunching opand computing faces,

eration, indicate the sum of the -payments made while at the same timethe numeral indicating the sum of the preceding payments.

will be obliterated. l

3.- A card of the character described having a number of consecutivespaces containing numerals and indicating payments to be made\and anumber 4of consecutive spaces containing an equal number' of numeralseach of which represent the sums of all the payments aftereach payment,all of the sec- -ond set of.;spaceszand-numerals except the last of theseries-bein arranged respectively record` af payment made and computethe sum of the `-payments made :and cancel the whereby spaces andnul

